Meeting Prince Harry

On Monday the 20^th October Lee Waddicor and I had an amazing opportunity to meet Price Harry whilst visiting Salford Fire Station.

Prince Harry came to catch up with the operational crews who were involved in the Manchester and Salford riots back in 2011. He also met volunteer co-ordinators who were involved with the clean-up. In 2011 I was a community fire cadet at Eccles fire station which were also involved with the big clean up.  He spoke to myself and Lucy, who is a current Fire Cadet at Eccles station about what we do and asked us why we enjoy being part of Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.

Lee Waddicor, a previous Princes Trust team member, now Apprentice Business Safety advisor also had the opportunity to meet and speak to the Prince. Lee was invited to meet prince Harry due to his recent successes in qualifying as a finalist for the celebrate success awards with the Princes Trust. Lee’s personal experiences were really beneficial to the Salford Team, he was there to support them and got the chance to speak to the Prince to explain how the course has changed his life.

He said” he spoke to me about my job role and I explained that we can progress from the apprenticeship to a full-time role. “

 “It was a fantastic opportunity that I will never forget, it was fulfilling to see Prince Harry have such a keen interest in his Fathers Charity, a moment I will truly never forget”

Kitchen Safety and Sprinkler Training

Last month I was invited to attend a training event in Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue service’s technical centre in Leigh. The training was aimed to teach myself, Business Safety Advisors and Community Safety Advisors how to operate the Kitchen safety unit and the Sprinkler Safety unit for demonstrations to the public.
The kitchen safety unit will be coming to a community event near you to provide information on cooking safety and vital information about using chip pans. The aim of the demonstration is to show the public how serious a fire can be and what happens when a chip pan reaches the point of combustion and somebody adds water.

Our advice now would be that if it safe to turn the cooker off, do so and leave the property whilst closing the doors behind you to prevent the fire spreading. Once you are outside call 999. If it is not safe to turn the cooker off then simply leave, close the door and call 999 to allow the professionals to deal with it safely.

Apprentice Ambassador Workshop

Mathew Alsop and I are the apprenticeship ambassadors for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service. It was such a pleasure to be selected for the fantastic opportunity which enables us to share our experiences with young people leaving school and college.

On the 11^th of September we were asked to attend a workshop with 13 other apprentices from various sectors around Manchester. We were put into groups and were able to communicate after a few team building activities were done to settle the nerves.  It was interesting to hear about other people’s experiences and how I will change the futures of young people by giving them other options than further education.

 Apprenticeships are available from 16-24 with GMFRS, to find out more go to
http://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/updates/apprentice-casestudies.aspx

Photo Shoot for The Manchester College

Myself and apprentice Tony Maunder was asked to attend the Whitworth Street Campus last week. We took part in a photo-shoot to promote the fantastic opportunity that the Manchester College provides for apprentices and the ‘Good’ Ofsted result that they received this year.